Phytoplankton Bloom

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Tiny round cells of the alga Phaeocystis are only a few micrometers in diameter, but they form large colonies of hundreds of individual cells held together with a gel-like substance. Here, in a rare view, are single cells, doublets, and the beginnings of colony formation. Colony-forming cells are getting a start by attaching to two cells of a larger algae species, Thalassiosira.